Reader mailbag: Yes, Lobo hoops will be active in the portal

Apr. 8—EDITOR'S NOTE — Journal staff writer Geoff Grammer is answering your questions, solicited via Twitter (@GeoffGrammer), in this latest reader mailbag column. Here's a sampling of the questions he received this week.

The 2022-23 season has come and gone, but the interest in college hoops, especially in a place like Albuquerque, continues.

While a lot of questions this time of year revolve around recruiting and plenty of speculative questions, I'll start with a bit of a wet-blanket disclaimer: I'm not interested in using this space for much speculation about players leaving or coming. I won't avoid the topic, but you likely won't get much "sources tell me" or "I'm hearing" on any of this until players make their decisions.

That said, I asked you to tweet me your questions and you came through. Plenty to pick from this week.

UNM portal predictions?

— David Paschall (@dfpaschall) April 6, 2023

QUESTION: UNM (transfer) portal predictions?

ANSWER: They'll be very active. Just like every team in an era of the sport that really allows coaches and programs to address specific needs with a little more accuracy than ever before.

Fans might not like it, and coaches may complain about it, but the reality is a team that needs two Division I-ready big men who can help a deficiency like rebounding and provide a post presence (sound familiar to any Lobo fans?), the transfer portal at least makes that an offseason possibility.

Different coaches, as always, will have different recruiting philosophies, but the days of an entire recruiting class being high school players and hoping they stick around their entire careers just ain't it anymore.

My general preference now is about a third of a recruiting class at this level (the Mountain West level) should be high school kids and two-thirds should be a combination of Division I and junior college transfers.

How many open scholarships do the Lobos have?

— Joe Marquez (@WKOSIT) April 5, 2023

QUESTION: How many open scholarships do the Lobos have?

ANSWER: This is a good one for early in this mailbag so everyone knows how many open spots the Lobos are still looking to fill.

The answer, for now anyway, is five.

—Scholarships taken:

1. Braden Appelhans

2. Donovan Dent

3. Sebastian Forsling

4. Jaelen House

5. Jamal Mashburn Jr.

6. Jadyn Toppin (incoming freshman)

7. Tru Washington (incoming freshman)

8. Quinton Webb

—Open scholarships: 5

What's the timeline for when we should start hearing about incoming transfers? Anyone else we are likely to lose other than those so far declared for the portal? Anyone we are likely to gain (like a brother of a former Lobo)?

— Damon Hudson (@damonjhudson) April 5, 2023

QUESTION: What's the timeline for when we should start hearing about incoming transfers?

A: I think the Lobos may start adding transfers this week.

But it's important to remember the NCAA's transfer portal, as of Saturday evening, sits with 1,365 names in it according to VerbalCommits.com and the deadline for players to announce they are transferring (May 11) is still more than a month away.

With five spots remaining to fill for their 13-man roster, the Lobos still have plenty of ground to cover, but also plenty of time to do it.

Do you foresee any changes made in the way of MW officiating with the new commissioner?

— Nicole ??at The Pit (@nicolemarieayy) April 5, 2023

QUESTION: Do you foresee any changes made in the way of MW officiating with the new commissioner?

ANSWER: This question had a reply on Twitter that has a common complaint each March from Mountain West hoops fans that I think is worth adding. It noted:

"The Mountain West needs to provide more guidance to their officials to call games more similar to NCAA Tournament. Chill with the 60-plus ticky tack fouls a game."

So, in answer, I'll say I don't see much change coming. But I also don't see Mountain West officiating being as different from most other leagues as fans here think, though it's true there is an aging demographic of referees in the MW. That may be affecting officiating.

As for the more fouls being called in the MW, that's not the case.

The number of fouls called doesn't tell us how well a game is called, but in terms of just the numbers, here are the total fouls called during league game for the top 10-rated conferences (per KenPom.com) this past season.

—West Coast: 36.0

—Big 12: 35.7

—Southeastern: 34.9

—American Athletic: 34.1

—Mountain West: 33.4

—C-USA: 33.0

—Pac-12: 32.7

—Big East: 32.0

—Big Ten: 31.6

—Atlantic Coast: 31.5

If SDSU moves onto Pac12, which school would the MWc after ?

— wdan (@winsten_dan) April 5, 2023

QUESTION: If SDSU moves onto Pac-12, which school would the MWC after?

ANSWER: Honestly, probably nobody.

For basketball, dropping to a 10-team league would allow for an 18-game, true-round robin conference schedule, and no more of the current unbalanced schedule would be nice.

For football, an 11-team league wouldn't be awful for the league that now has done away with its divisional format.

Remember, adding teams means a smaller piece of the revenue sharing for each school. So, unless there is a school out there looking for a league that actually makes the executives at CBS Sports willing to toss in more money for the media rights, I don't see the MWC adding a school immediately.

Then again, I'll believe the Aztecs are gone when I know for sure the Pac-12's two Arizona schools, Utah and Colorado aren't going to go join the Big 12. If those moves happen, then SDSU going to the Pac-12 doesn't seem to be nearly the done deal it is currently assumed to be.

Can you give your way to early MBB rankings for 23-24? Please include which teams you think will make the NCAA Tourney.How warm is Pitino's seat?

— C & C (@CandCParlay) April 5, 2023

QUESTION: How warm is Pitino's seat?

ANSWER: (Note: That was just a part of a longer question.) Pitino took over a team that won four Division I games the season before he got to Albuquerque. UNM won 13 games in his first season and 22 in his second, including an invitation to the NIT, the program's first postseason of any kind in nine years.

His seat is plenty cool right now.

If you were the defending champions and planning the Master's Dinner, what would be on your menu?

— Mike Rowe — aka Chorizo (@camschorizo) April 5, 2023

QUESTION: If you were the defending champion and planning the Master's Dinner, what would be on your menu?

ANSWER: A food truck serving street tacos in the parking lot.

How many games do you expect the Lobos to play in the Northeast/Greater NYC area next season? 0, 1, 2? Dare I dream of more??

— Michael Sol Warren (@MSolDub) April 5, 2023

QUESTION: How many games do you expect the Lobos to play in the Northeast/Greater NYC area next season? 0, 1, 2? Dare I dream of more?

ANSWER: The backdrop to this question is this: UNM technically owes Iona a game this season per a home-and-home contract signed last year that was 100% intended to be a Pitino-vs.-Pitino series of games, which is why the elder Rick Pitino's Iona Gales played in the Pit this past December and Richard Pitino's Lobos were supposed to return that game in New Rochelle, N.Y., this coming season or pay a $25,000 penalty.

Well, with Iona on a rebuild now since Rick Pitino left to take the St. John's job, I can pretty much guarantee the Lobos will be skipping the Iona game (they can make more than $25,000 in ticket revenue by replacing that road trip with a home game against anyone or by taking another road game that would pay them around $75,000 as was the case this past season when UNM played at Saint Mary's).

Now, what about the elder Pitino's new gig? After all, when Rick Pitino took the St. John's job, Richard Pitino posted on Twitter it seemed like a good way to get out of having to play the Lobos again.

Rick Pitino joked with New York media the Lobos would have to find a way to come play his new team in Madison Square Garden.

And, if they can figure out a way to do that (and it is a possibility), then I think the Lobos still will play a game in New York this coming season, but it won't be at Iona.

Any thoughts on the Lobos carrying 3 left handed BB players on the roster next season? Tru, Toppin, Appelhans

— Rob (@roblmo) April 5, 2023

QUESTION: Any thoughts on the Lobos carrying 3 left handed BB players on the roster next season? Tru Washington, Jadyn Toppin and Braden Appelhans?

ANSWER: I have no idea what to think about this other than all us normal, right-handed people need to be prepared. The Lefties seem to quietly be taking over.